Digital PDF versions of Dungeon Crawlin' Fools, On the Origin of PCs now on sale!

I was on the fence for a bit about whether it was worth buying the PDF of Dungeon Crawlin' Fools just for the "10 years later" commentary. I already have all 8 OotS physical books on my shelf, and I'll continue to buy the physical ones as they come out, regardless of whether or not a PDF comes out at the same time.

I decided today to buy it anyway, as sort of a digital tip, in thanks for all the extra content from the Kickstarter above and beyond what the original promise was. (I didn't pledge beyond $10 during the Kickstarter just because I already had all the books.)

I was surprised that there wasn't just the one essay in the afterword, but a few other small "10 years later" commentary boxes on previous author commentaries. I think that if you do decide to make more PDF's, making some additional "looking back" commentaries might also help, although I realize that's extra work, and more importantly there may not be too much more to say.

I would very much prefer to have physical copies of all the books (in fact, I own both "Start of Darkness" - which is easily one of the best works I've ever read - and "Snips, Snails and Dragon Tales"), but with shipping fees being what they are, especially with the current dollar-to-reais exchange rate, I am very thankful for the opportunity to also own OtOoPCs and DCF, even if only in .pdf. The additional afterwords are the icing on the cake!

Just bought the DCF pdf (mainly for the commentary and to see how it is), and while the resolution is really great, on both my pdf-viewers* I have a problem with the images. Black lines have a "vector-shadow" that make them sometimes look really ugly. Since I can't put it really into words (and a picture says more than thousand words), here a picture:

http://i1363.photobucket.com/albums/...psbbojproa.png

(Interestingly one of my viewers doesn't show this error on the title page - but instead renders the title page in a slightly more saturated color scheme, looking rather weird)

For what its worth I have no problems with the Kickstarter pdf (on both viewers). I will try on different pc (with different pdf viewers) sometimes in the future, but right now I'm a bit bummed about it. :smallannoyed:


*one being the standard Evince Document Viewer on Fedora, the other being Adobe Acrobat Reader on Fedora

It is that way with all my viewers too. It means that it also sometimes shows lines that are otherwise "hidden" behind (or in front of) a black background. I figured there wasn't much to be done about it, though. If anyone figured out a viewer that shows it differently, please do share, but I assumed it was part of the file and that any viewer would show the same thing.

I've only bought the OOTPCs one so far, so that might have something to do with it, but I haven't seen anything like that.

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Originally Posted by ti'esar

I've only bought the OOTPCs one so far, so that might have something to do with it, but I haven't seen anything like that.

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I only noticed it in DCFs. It may be because Origins is in greyscale, or how the image files are processed, or something.

Either way, I personally didn't think it was a huge problem. It's on par with "there is a typo" on the "disturbs my enjoyment of the material" scale. In other words, it's noticeable, but can be ignored, and it's easy to figure out what it was actually supposed to look like (without white outlines around the black stuff). Sure, if it can be fixed, that would be great, but if it can't, you can still enjoy the product fine.

Heh, now that I look at it again, in that second image the effect actually kind of makes it look like those goblins got an art upgrade.

Thanks for publishing this, Giant. I already own the SoD and OtOoPCs books, but I will happily buy all the PDF versions of other content - it's without question the way I'd prefer to reread.

So I'm a long-time lurker and finally made an account (hi!) to say - thank you so much for making these PDFs. I've wanted the books for years but couldn't get them in print. But I finally bought the PDFs last night and I'm absolutely mesmerized by their quality (and the new strips I've never read!). I hope it's not too long until the other books (especially Start of Darkness!) come out in PDFs, too!

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Originally Posted by Lissou

I only noticed it in DCFs. It may be because Origins is in greyscale, or how the image files are processed, or something.

Either way, I personally didn't think it was a huge problem. It's on par with "there is a typo" on the "disturbs my enjoyment of the material" scale. In other words, it's noticeable, but can be ignored, and it's easy to figure out what it was actually supposed to look like (without white outlines around the black stuff). Sure, if it can be fixed, that would be great, but if it can't, you can still enjoy the product fine.

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Good for you if it doesn't bother you much. For me it nearly totally breaks immersion. If I would have expected the pdf to look like that, I would have most likely not bought the pdf.

I didn't even realize that until it was pointed out. Note that i know, doesn't bother me in the least. It is an odd issue, though, and I feel for the people it annoys; lord knows i have my own idiosyncrasies about things that bug the hell out of me.

Curiously, it changes in real them when I scroll in or out. I went to the page with the sleeping goblins that was linked, and I didn't see it, so I scrolled in, and saw it pop in front of the goblin.

I just made an account to say: THANK YOU!!!! :)

I bought both PDFs as soon as I read about them becoming available; previously, limited budget and shelf space precluded me from ordering the physical copies, so I'm very happy I can support you financially in a small way now. :) The physical copies of every book are still on my wishlist, though (regardless of whether I get PDFs or not), so when finances and space both increase, I'll purchase those. In the meantime, I shall continue to eagerly purchase any and all digital content you make available!

Thank you so much for all of your hard work and dedication to a most excellent webcomic. I eagerly look forward to each new strip! (especially with the current tense situation)

Huzzah!
--OneBoot :D

Just popping in to say that I bought the two PDFs.

Now if only WotC would release D&D Fifth Edition in PDF...

And Blizzard allow offline play in their games...

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Originally Posted by Joseph Silver

Now if only WotC would release D&D Fifth Edition in PDF...

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They did that. It might not be in PDF format, but the basic rules are free.

I am usually a lurker around here, but this I must say : Thank you, Giant !

I'm a lurker too, sometimes I make a post here and there.
Bought the first digital book, gonna buy the second next month. Don't like spending too much in one month. Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for making these available, and I hope we will see future digital editions.:smallcool:

As far as a release schedule of future books, I would imagine that you could do something similar to hardcover/paperback that other publishers use for books.

Hard cover comes out immediately, and the paper back comes out 1 year later. Just change out hard cover for trade paperback, and paperback for pdf.

That gives more exclusive time for the more money expensive to upkeep physical copies to make money.

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Originally Posted by ChristianSt

Good for you if it doesn't bother you much. For me it nearly totally breaks immersion. If I would have expected the pdf to look like that, I would have most likely not bought the pdf.

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OK, there's good news and bad news on this front.

The good news is that there is a way for you to fix this right now. If you're using Acrobat Reader, try going into Preferences > Page Display. Once there, uncheck the box marked "Smooth Line Art." That will eliminate the ghostly lines. Other PDF programs will likely have a similar option somewhere in their preferences.

The bad news is that it will also stop smoothing the line art, which will probably leave the lines looking very jagged. If that bothers you less than the ghostly lines, though, then you can read it like that.

The good news is that after a good deal of experimenting and researching and such, I think I've figured out a way to eliminate this problem even with Smooth Line Art turned on.

The bad news is that it requires me to make changes to each piece of art in the existing files, and that will be incredibly time-consuming.

The good news is that it will take no extra time for the next PDF book, so it should have this problem eliminated right from the start.

The further good news is that Gumroad's system allows me to issue updates to existing files, which customers who have purchased the book can download for free. So when I do get the time to fix these two files, you will get an email telling you that a new version is available for download.

The bad news is that because you're literally the only person who has even mentioned this problem, it's not at the top of my very full To-Do list at the moment. I will probably get it fixed in time to go out before Paladin Blues is released, but I wouldn't expect it much sooner than that (and I don't know when that will be).

I think that covers everything.

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Originally Posted by The Giant

OK, there's good news and bad news on this front.

The good news is that there is a way for you to fix this right now. If you're using Acrobat Reader, try going into Preferences > Page Display. Once there, uncheck the box marked "Smooth Line Art." That will eliminate the ghostly lines. Other PDF programs will likely have a similar option somewhere in their preferences.

The bad news is that it will also stop smoothing the line art, which will probably leave the lines looking very jagged. If that bothers you less than the ghostly lines, though, then you can read it like that.

The good news is that after a good deal of experimenting and researching and such, I think I've figured out a way to eliminate this problem even with Smooth Line Art turned on.

The bad news is that it requires me to make changes to each piece of art in the existing files, and that will be incredibly time-consuming.

The good news is that it will take no extra time for the next PDF book, so it should have this problem eliminated right from the start.

The further good news is that Gumroad's system allows me to issue updates to existing files, which customers who have purchased the book can download for free. So when I do get the time to fix these two files, you will get an email telling you that a new version is available for download.

The bad news is that because you're literally the only person who has even mentioned this problem, it's not at the top of my very full To-Do list at the moment. I will probably get it fixed in time to go out before Paladin Blues is released, but I wouldn't expect it much sooner than that (and I don't know when that will be).

I think that covers everything.

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Rich, I work for a publisher who puts out a lot of image-heavy PDFs, and a lot of what I do is working under the hood of PDFs to ensure they display the way we want them to on multiple platforms. If you think it might be helpful, you could email me a sample page (at my username at gmail), and I'd be happy to put in an hour or two to see if there's a less time-intensive way to remove the outlines. No guarantees, but I have access to some software tools you might not. (If you think the solution you've found is as good as it's likely to get, please disregard!)

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Originally Posted by The Giant

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I think that covers everything.

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Great news! For what it's worth, I see it as well, and it's sometimes a bit bothersome, it doesn't bother me much at all.

That there is a current workaround -- still have to see how it looks -- is great.
That you're pretty sure that you'll have the issue addressed in future PDFs is fantastic (among other things, it indicates that there will be more PDFs!!!)
That you're considering/planning on providing an update to existing PDFs is, well, super great fantastic!

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Originally Posted by The Giant

OK, there's good news and bad news on this front.

The good news is that there is a way for you to fix this right now. If you're using Acrobat Reader, try going into Preferences > Page Display. Once there, uncheck the box marked "Smooth Line Art." That will eliminate the ghostly lines. Other PDF programs will likely have a similar option somewhere in their preferences.

The bad news is that it will also stop smoothing the line art, which will probably leave the lines looking very jagged. If that bothers you less than the ghostly lines, though, then you can read it like that.

The good news is that after a good deal of experimenting and researching and such, I think I've figured out a way to eliminate this problem even with Smooth Line Art turned on.

The bad news is that it requires me to make changes to each piece of art in the existing files, and that will be incredibly time-consuming.

The good news is that it will take no extra time for the next PDF book, so it should have this problem eliminated right from the start.

The further good news is that Gumroad's system allows me to issue updates to existing files, which customers who have purchased the book can download for free. So when I do get the time to fix these two files, you will get an email telling you that a new version is available for download.

The bad news is that because you're literally the only person who has even mentioned this problem, it's not at the top of my very full To-Do list at the moment. I will probably get it fixed in time to go out before Paladin Blues is released, but I wouldn't expect it much sooner than that (and I don't know when that will be).

I think that covers everything.

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The good news is that the Giant just heavily implied that No Cure will eventually be released in this format.

The bad news is that the frogurt is also cursed. #SimpsonsReference

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Originally Posted by The Giant

[...]

I think that covers everything.

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Thanks for looking into it!

I really like to hear that this problem will not persist to newer releases (especially since I feared that it might happen to future Kickstarter stories). :smallsmile:

I can fully understand that fixing the current books (especially since there isn't much complain about it) has a pretty low priority. I kinda hoped/thought there would be a not so time consuming way to fix the problem.

(The "disabling Smooth Line Art" indeed prevents the ghost lines, but the un-smooth lines don't really work well for me either.)

Thanks for the update, Rich, but now you've got me wondering who it was who wished for a one armed economist.

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Originally Posted by Grey Watcher

The bad news is that the frogurt is also cursed.

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But you get your choice of toppings!

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Originally Posted by Grey Watcher

The good news is that the Giant just heavily implied that No Cure will eventually be released in this format.

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I was honestly expecting someone to try to toss that into the Index O' Comments.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The Giant

OK, there's good news and bad news on this front.

The good news is that there is a way for you to fix this right now. If you're using Acrobat Reader, try going into Preferences > Page Display. Once there, uncheck the box marked "Smooth Line Art." That will eliminate the ghostly lines. Other PDF programs will likely have a similar option somewhere in their preferences.

The bad news is that it will also stop smoothing the line art, which will probably leave the lines looking very jagged. If that bothers you less than the ghostly lines, though, then you can read it like that.

The good news is that after a good deal of experimenting and researching and such, I think I've figured out a way to eliminate this problem even with Smooth Line Art turned on.

The bad news is that it requires me to make changes to each piece of art in the existing files, and that will be incredibly time-consuming.

The good news is that it will take no extra time for the next PDF book, so it should have this problem eliminated right from the start.

The further good news is that Gumroad's system allows me to issue updates to existing files, which customers who have purchased the book can download for free. So when I do get the time to fix these two files, you will get an email telling you that a new version is available for download.

The bad news is that because you're literally the only person who has even mentioned this problem, it's not at the top of my very full To-Do list at the moment. I will probably get it fixed in time to go out before Paladin Blues is released, but I wouldn't expect it much sooner than that (and I don't know when that will be).

I think that covers everything.

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Hello, first many thanks by the opportunity of getting the books by this means. Finally was able to understand why the order had that name, and how I laughed (Though I read Durkon past too late, instead of laugh felt sad by him).

However, I'm sad but I need to inform that with the Book #1 is truly hard to ignore the problem ( the mouth of the characters, seem like cheap lipstick and is getting to hard to me to ignore it), yet I'm happy knowing that futures books will be free of this unexpected problem.

In resume, I'm happy with the current work, the book #0 is amazing, and probably only #1 will have a issue in formats, so yes, I'll try to get my digital collection if this become a viable option for the Giant, but please sums +1 to the request to try to fix the volume #1 :smallbiggrin:.

Hello Giant!

I wanted to add that I certainly had noticed the lines, and took screenshots to post here and illustrate the problem, then never got around to actually posting it. I found the issue quite distracting, especially for the mouths when teeth are shown, but that's ok. I got the books for a few reasons:
1) I had not read OtOoS yet!
2) I wanted to (re)read the commentaries
3) -- the most important one -- I now had a way to send you money without having to suffer absurd shipping costs and customs fees.

So overall, I am very pleased with this PDF run. If future books can avoid that issue without too much trouble, that will be fantastic! If you can update the two already published, great, but it is not a priority as far as I am concerned (I have read the two PDFs already). The regular strip or more PDFs (so I can spend more) are more important to me.

LOL it looks like Rich just got an extra purchase. I was trying to buy DCF because my friend borrowed and lost it, but instead I bought OOoPC's. SO I guess I have 2 books now!

Also, awesome that they accept PayPal

I just wanted to chime in how awesome it is to have a PDF version of the books! I missed writing when the news hit, but now I remembered to buy the PDFs, so it's as good time as any - it's great that I can support OOTS without the bulky physical copy that has so expensive shipping and that I want, but don't have space for!